Managing the fuzzy front end of the innovation

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Managing the fuzzy front end of the innovation process Supporting Innovation Education Reloaded: Nurturing

Managing the fuzzy front end of the innovation process Supporting Innovation Education Reloaded: Nurturing Skills for the Future. The Open Innovation Teaching Handbook teaching slides proposed by Borut Likar Peter Štrukelj Katarina Košmrl Klemen Širok Co-funded by the European Union Ref. number: 542203 -LLP-1 -2013 -1 -FI-ERASMUS-ENW

Objectives of the lecture o Getting familiar with the preinvention phase in relation to

Objectives of the lecture o Getting familiar with the preinvention phase in relation to identification of users’ problems/needs and creation of solutions; o Providing insights on how to orchestrate open innovation approach within the fuzzy-front end of innovation process; o Getting familiar with concrete methods on how to identify users’ problems and needs.

Learning outcomes o Knowledge Ø To Understand How To Capture Value From Innovation –

Learning outcomes o Knowledge Ø To Understand How To Capture Value From Innovation – Appreciate The Challenges And Methods For Designing Innovative Organizations o Competences Ø To Plan And Manage An Idea Generation Session Ø To Recognize Opportunity (Business) Ø To Analyze Innovation Needs Of A Company

Learning outcomes o Skills Ø To Apply Idea Generation Tools To Add Value To

Learning outcomes o Skills Ø To Apply Idea Generation Tools To Add Value To The Product / Process / Service / Business Model In An Organization Ø To Develop Creative Thinking Skills And Methods Ø To Apply Techniques For Inventive Problem Solving Ø To Critically Analyze Opportunity Identification, Evaluation And Exploitation For Entrepreneurship Ø To Develop And Contrast Future Scenarios And Appropriate Corporate Strategies Based Upon The Application Of Corporate Foresight Methodologies

Preinvention phase o the most important phase in the innovation process: it has the

Preinvention phase o the most important phase in the innovation process: it has the greatest optimisation potential, highest impact on the whole innovation (yet only few authors or studies have given considerable attention to this stage, despite its vital role) o the element of problem (identification) with regard to the preinvention phase is rarely discussed in literature o by merely focusing on an idea, organizations may miss some key opportunities or may not detect problems that may become unsolvable later (this refers to new products and also to organizational, process, strategy and other “soft” aspects of the operations)

Dangers & potential failures o dangers: simplistic/vague approach, focusing too much on other phases

Dangers & potential failures o dangers: simplistic/vague approach, focusing too much on other phases in the innovation process, lack of resources and knowledge of innovation, lack of analysis, poor planning, insufficient use of management and lack of methodical, systematic and structured procedures o in the problem identification phase, it is crucial to correctly understand (define) a problem/challenge as a potential source of innovation opportunity o common mistakes: incorrect assessment of circumstances, insufficient data, information and analyses, and focusing too much on the present business needs

Problem identification methods many methods available to potential innovators for defining and addressing problems

Problem identification methods many methods available to potential innovators for defining and addressing problems as sources of innovation opportunities – methods differ with regard to: • scope (addressing a problem or an opportunity) • duration of implementation (swiftly/slowly) • number of participants (individual/group) • profile of participants (expert/generalist) • potential (incremental/breakthrough) • orientation (present/future)

Methods: examples • • Innovation Cube Ishikawa Diagram Problem Mining Forced Connections PACIS PAPSA

Methods: examples • • Innovation Cube Ishikawa Diagram Problem Mining Forced Connections PACIS PAPSA Qa. DIM e. MIPS …

Methods for OI approach the most appropriate methods are those that are designed for

Methods for OI approach the most appropriate methods are those that are designed for group implementation and require different profiles (backgrounds, expertise) of active participants e. g. Innovation Cube, e. MIPS, PAPSA, DELPHI …

e. MIPS o o o ’’e-supported mass identification of problems and solutions’’ the goal

e. MIPS o o o ’’e-supported mass identification of problems and solutions’’ the goal is to establish/improve the innovation process and to create concrete solutions represents an extreme form of open innovation enables outsourcing of the front end of innovation process can be dynamically adapted to the specific case/challenge in an organization represents an "umbrella methodology" – a set of procedures where various methods (e. g. for problem identification, decomposition and idea creation) can be applied, depending on the organization's needs

e. MIPS o involves proactive involvement of organization's employees supported by the appropriate methodology

e. MIPS o involves proactive involvement of organization's employees supported by the appropriate methodology and external experts o incorporates the principles of blended learning, offering appropriate mix and sequence of face-to-face and online (e. Learning) activities o combines face-to-face workshops with e. Mentoring of organizations taking place in e. Learning Moodle environment and utilization of other ICT communication channels (videoconferences) o carried out in groups of at least 6 employees and guided by qualified external moderators

Teaching e. MIPS 1. possibility: students involved in real application of e. MIPS in

Teaching e. MIPS 1. possibility: students involved in real application of e. MIPS in organizations Students collaborate with other participants on a real practical problem in several consequent sessions that connect different stakeholders (a heterogenous group of organizations, e. Mentors, students of mechanical engineering, psychology, marketing, management etc. ). In the course of a specific Innovation module, students are actively engaged in working, helping, collaborating in a real innovation process in organizations.

Teaching e. MIPS 2. possibility: students involved in real application of e. MIPS in

Teaching e. MIPS 2. possibility: students involved in real application of e. MIPS in (university, techno-parks) incubators A particular innovation project that is based on e. MIPS methodology can actively engage students from different study fields (faculties), e. g. chemistry, marketing, management etc. A project has a few e. Mentors, each of which supervises one particular aspect of the innovation project.

Teaching e. MIPS 3. possibility: teacher organizes a role-play (simulation) Students are provided with

Teaching e. MIPS 3. possibility: teacher organizes a role-play (simulation) Students are provided with some typical cases of real innovation challenges and then divided into different groups with their own separate roles. Students within each group then jointly work on finding appropriate solutions to given typical innovation problems (by using different innovation/creativity methods), whereby they should be taking into consideration (at least to some extent) the specifics of their assigned roles (interests, behaviors, norms).

Innovation Cube o simple and concise method for rapid implementation o can be learned

Innovation Cube o simple and concise method for rapid implementation o can be learned quickly and performed even more swiftly o does not need a long period of preparation, the results are immediate o directs participants systematically towards a broader way of considering and addressing problems and needs, opportunities and ideas for novelties as well as towards finding new markets

Innovation Cube o guides our thinking towards incremental as well as breakthrough ideas o

Innovation Cube o guides our thinking towards incremental as well as breakthrough ideas o its application also leads to consideration of future trends and needs o requires in-depth knowledge across the broader area of fields of expertise, as well as creativity (only a combination of both delivers maximum results) o necessary to include various experts with sufficient knowledge and experience in relation to customers, markets, technologies and products

Teaching Innovation Cube 1. possibility: teacher organizes a role-play (simulation) Students are provided with

Teaching Innovation Cube 1. possibility: teacher organizes a role-play (simulation) Students are provided with some typical, standard cases of real problems, and then divided into different groups with their separate roles. By using Innovation Cube methodology, groups then jointly work on finding appropriate solutions to given standard problems, whereby they should be taking into consideration (at least to some extent) the specifics of their assigned roles (interests, behaviors, norms).

Teaching Innovation Cube 2. possibility: Performing the method on an existing or fictionary product/service

Teaching Innovation Cube 2. possibility: Performing the method on an existing or fictionary product/service or industry as a "project" that is carried out in the following 2 phases:

1. Field analyses Students (6 to 9 in total) are divided into groups according

1. Field analyses Students (6 to 9 in total) are divided into groups according to different sides of the cube, namely one group works on users (existing buyers and potential target groups and their specifics in terms of demographics, economic status, lifestyles), a second group analyses needs (those that are already being satisfied with the product/service/industry in consideration and those that are arising or may arise in the future along with alternative possibilites of satisfying these needs). Finally, a third group works on the problems and challenges in connection with the chosen topic, thoroughly studying the sources of existing problems and trying to detect future challenges along with reasons for their occurence. Students may present their analyses' results in a report or as a public presentation to the class.

2. Innovation opportunites This step is carried out similarly as the role-play (simulation). Students

2. Innovation opportunites This step is carried out similarly as the role-play (simulation). Students in the group are given different roles, representing designers, manufacturers, industry, market analytics, policy makers, etc. Roles can be either assigned by the teacher or drawn randomly as in a lottery. An alternative way is to swap the initial topic between groups, so that each group has to study in-depth an analysis report of the previous phase. The group then works on finding innovation opportunities for all or just selected segments of the Innovation cube.

Thank you! The slides are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share. Alike 4. 0

Thank you! The slides are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share. Alike 4. 0 Unported License. Visit www. oi-net. eu to learn more about the project and download the free book Innovation Education Reloaded: Nurturing Skills for the Future. The Open Innovation Teaching Handbook This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 21 Programme: ERASMUS # 542203 -LLP-1 -2013 -1 -FI-ERASMUS-ENW